Nautical Fiction Top 10
In their January/February 1999 issue, the editors of Ocean Navigator magazine
gave us their list of the ten greatest nautical fiction books ever written. Although some
of the books are no longer in print, we will try to make as many as possible available to
our customers. In the descriptions below, all the quotations are from the magazine,
courtesy of Navigator Publishing Corp.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. "The granddaddy of American
literature follows the adventures of Ishmael aboard the ill-fated whaling vessel Pequod."
Library of America Vintage Books, 660 pages, paperback. $12.50 T8901.
Moby Dick is available in other editions as well.
Grey Seas Under by Farley Mowat. "An ocean salvage tug crew battles
the seas of the North Atlantic recovering grief-stricken ships."
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. "A British merchant sailor is haunted by
a cowardly act performed in his youth while aboard a steamer in the Indian Ocean."
Dover Thrift Edition (unabridged) 246 pages, paperback. $2.00 T3341.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. "A battered old salt
braves the ocean alone and captures a giant fish." Scribner, 127 pages, paperback.
$9.00 T15422.
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling. "An aristocratic snot gains
life experience after accidentally landing a berth aboard a New England fishing
schooner." Bantam Classic edition, 144 pages paperback. $2.50 T3255.
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian. "The first of the
19-book Audrey Maturin series describes the sea-borne adventures of an affable British
captain and his surgeon shipmate during the Napoleonic wars." W.W. Norton, 412 pages,
paperback. $12.95 T6288.
hardback, with dust jacket. $22.50 T11793.
Master and Commander abridged version read by Robert Hardy. Random House
Audiobooks. Three cassettes in boxed set, about 4 1/2 hours. $22.00 T15357.
Spartina by John Casey. "A down-on-his-luck Rhode Island fisherman
struggles to finish his home-built boat and head for sea." Random House paperback,
375 pages. $13.00 T15421.
The Sea Wolf by Jack London. "A battle between good and evil begins
when a refined castaway is rescued by the seal-hunting schooner Ghost and becomes
an unwilling sailor under the brutal Wolf Larsen." Oxford University Press paperback.
$6.95 T3361.
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. "In the Annapolis
Book of Seamanship John Rousmaniere called this book ‘probably the only spy story
whose solution lies in a tide table.’ " Seafarer Books/Sheridan House 260 pages
hardback with dust jacket. $14.95 T6019.
The Riddle of the Sands is also available in other editions.
The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond Innes. "A captain with a past
battles to save his ship and then his reputation against a marine insurance scheme to
frame him for the loss of the merchant ship Mary Deare." Out of print.
Out of Print
Just because a book is listed as out of print does not mean that you should give up.
There is a lively market in used books, and Pilothouse is involved in this market. Tell us
what you want, and we will seek to find it at a reasonable price. The process may take
some time, but there is always a good chance of eventually finding your book. When we find
a copy, we will describe its condition to you as accurately as we can, and if you decide
to buy, the sale is of course subject to your inspection and acceptance.
Also, remember that a book the publisher has allowed to go out of print may be reissued
later by the original publisher or by another publisher. When that happens to classics
such as the books in this list, you can be sure that we will stock the new edition.
